“Jen Walters can use the law to help people when society fails them. She-Hulk can help people when the law fails them.”

From the pages of Marvel’s comics, She-Hulk gets her MCU debut in the Disney+ series “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” directed by Jessica Gao. As the MCU’s first legal comedy show,  the series tells the story of an attorney named Jennifer Walters — played by Tatiana Maslany — who accidentally gains the ability to turn into a hulk, acquiring powers such as super strength and durability. After gaining popularity from the public under the name “She-Hulk,” Walters struggles to balance her life as an attorney and superhero.     

The show greatly contributes to the world-building of Marvel’s cinematic universe — references to events that occurred in past films such as “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” are frequent throughout the show. Additionally, the show addresses and explains multiple loose ends within the MCU. For example, it touches upon the whereabouts of Emil Blonsky — the antagonist in “The Incredible Hulk” — for the first time in 14 years, and establishes him as one of the supporting characters of the story.

Various aspects of “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” are unique compared to past Marvel projects — one of them being the structure of the show’s plot. While many past MCU movies and shows deal with world-threatening events and various supervillains, “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” provides an original, refreshing plot by staying true to the concept of a legal comedy show. The majority of the show happens in the courtroom, where Walters deals with low stake legal issues that people face due to superheroes and other non-human entities in their society. The grounded nature of the show is a breath of fresh air in a universe full of excessive, large-scale conflicts.

The show further distances itself from past Disney+ shows through its distinctive plot progression. Each episode features a subplot  — usually revolving around a court case — that does not affect the other episodes nor the overall storyline. However, such divergence from the usual format of Marvel’s shows is unsuccessful. Not only does the quality of the plot differ greatly from episode to episode, but the show also struggles to form a coherent overarching plot, ultimately leading to an uninteresting main storyline and an unsatisfying conclusion to the show.

Additionally, the comedic aspect of the show is hit or miss. The plot of the show relies overly on quips and jokes to entertain the audience, yet such attempts usually lead to humor that is awkward and unnecessary. She-Hulk is also the first character in the MCU to have the ability to break the fourth wall and directly address the viewers. While such a “meta” element is an interesting aspect of the show, the overuse of it quickly makes it stale, acting as a distraction that breaks the engagement of the story and takes away from the gravity of certain scenes. 

While Tatiana Maslany’s strong, energetic performance of She-Hulk is one of the highlights of the series, the low quality of the CGI, especially that of She-Hulk herself, takes a toll on the visual aspect of the show. In scenes that take place in She-Hulk’s attorney office, the movements of She-Hulk are noticeably unnatural and awkward. Furthermore, despite having similar characteristics to a regular human being, She-Hulk’s green skin is overly smooth and lacking in texture compared to that of a normal person.

Overall, despite strengths, “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” falls short in terms of plot organization, comedy and CGI, ultimately failing to provide She-Hulk with a memorable debut. While fit for a series that can be used to kill time, those expecting a solid origin story will find themselves disappointed.   

2.5/5